The train’s rusted wheels screeched as they slowed against the rattling tracks waking Nobia from his restless sleep. His eyes burned looking at the bright red lights of the clock. 4:52 A.M. He grabbed the television remote and clicked the power on. Instinctively, his eyes squinted closed as he held up a hand to shield himself from the bright light of the late-night television infomercial. It’d been weeks since he had gotten a full night’s sleep. “Garbage,” he grunted standing up to turn the T.V. off. He looked over at his bed contemptuously, rubbed his eyes again, and walked toward the kitchen. Plopping down into one of the old rickety wooden chairs near the table his dark hair fell into his face, “You up?” he rasped.

“Of course.” The sweet voice came as a young girl with enormous yellow eyes materialized from behind him. Her powder-toned face smiled and her tiny fingers pushed out of the yellow raincoat's sleeves too large for her and rested on the table. “Is there anything I can do to help you sleep?”

Lighting a cigarette, he kept his gaze forward. “A brick to the head might do the trick," he yawned. He turned with a wolfish smile, blowing a plume of smoke through his teeth and rubbing his neck.

“Those are going to kill you one day, you know.” the petite girl added, ignoring his sarcasm. 

"Bricks? Well, I haven't had too many bad run-ins with them.” Nobia chuckled, flashing another smile of inhumanly sharp teeth. She rolled her eyes with a sigh, pinching the bridge of her nose and hiding a smirk from his view. “How ‘bout some apple juice, Brielle?” he said leaning back, crunching the cigarette’s cherry into the nearby ashtray.

“Juice it is!” she said before sauntering off into the kitchen.

He knew she lived for taking care of him since the day he had pulled her from the chaos that was her life in the lower levels of Kaiagoth, the main city on the other side and their home. He knew all the care she gave was her way of paying back the debt she believed she owed him. As he watched her pour the amber liquid into a short thick glass, he began to think about the real reason he wasn’t sleeping. The flashbacks of blurry dreams and old memories he knew were hiding in the trenches of his mind, biting at his eyelids like hungry rats starving for a morsel.

Neither of them belonged anywhere near a human city, but it appeared to be the safest place with society in the mess it had been in over the past years. It seems contradictory but when it came to humans, they rarely worried about the affairs of anyone but themselves. One of the only positive features of their species.

“This is an odd bottle of apple juice,” Brielle said smelling the bottle. Handing him the glass. Looking back at her, he raised his glass and chuckled. "I assume by your grin, that's not apple juice."

“Well, maybe I grabbed a bottle of scotch instead of apple juice at the store.” He shrugged with a smile. 

Shaking her head, she glanced over to the window. “The sun’s coming up,” Brielle yawned with half-closed eyes. “I think I’m going to get some sleep. You should go by Doc’s place; maybe he can help you with your insomnia.” She said walking into her room sluggishly, waved and smiled, “See you tonight.” She slurred closing the door behind herself.

“Doc?” He says raspily lighting another cigarette. “Like he’ll help any.”

“But the smoking and drinking will.” Brielle retorted from behind the door, startling him.

"I'll go," he responded standing up and stretching his lean body. "But only to prove you wrong."

Poking her head back out, she mumbled “Good. Your appointment is at ten; I called and scheduled it yesterday.”

Brielle smiled shutting her door. Nobia glared at her door and turned to look at the clock. 5:12. Grumbling, he headed into his room saying, “It’s already shaping up to be a wonderful day.”

The weak door’s hinges squeaked open slowly to reveal a short older man with a pair of small beady eyes peering out. “Nobia! How’ve you been?” he said flinging the door open causing it to smack angrily against the wall as he urged Nobia inward. “It’s been ages! Do come in. Would you like a drink or anyth-”

”No, thank you. I’m here to see the doctor,” he said, already very uncomfortable. “Is he busy?”

“Oh no, we got the phone call from Brielle yesterday. We’ve been expecting you all morning.” the man said squinting and smiling with his front teeth protruding over his bottom lip. ‘Thanks a lot, Bri.’ he thought to himself as he followed the tiny hunchbacked man from room to room.

As they finally reached the doctor located in the back of a sterile white room, Nobia nodded to the odd man in thanks and entered quietly. The room, obviously aged from lack of use or care, was barren except for a small, seafoam green cushioned table and counter adjacent covered in a plethora of silver tools. The original teal paint stood out through the cracks in the frivolously painted top layer of white paint.

“Not to worry, none of these are for you.” The doctor chuckled still facing the counter of tools, as they walked in behind him. He knew well the patients that did not enjoy his work and tried his best to make them feel comfortable there. “You may leave us now, Gorum.” 

“Yes, sir.” he said bowing and scurrying from the room. Nobia watched the man leave, biding his time to speak freely.

Doc began washing his hands in the aged metal sink just right of the long counter. The fluorescent lighting blinked as the fixtures swayed from the clacking of the overhead trains. “So, what can I do for you, Nobia?” he said turning the water off with a screech of the knobs. He dried his hands with a nearby cloth, tattered by its obvious age. “I have a feeling this isn’t a normal check-up,” he continued, smirking under his thick dark brown beard. “But when have our visits been anywhere near normal?”

The doctor’s human given name was Diarmuid O’Bradaigh. He was a remnant of the last war involving humans and his people. His father was a human that was in the military on active duty. His mother was not. The Japanese referred to them as forest spirits. The English called them the fae: pucks and dullahan and many lost names. They called themselves the Dahl’kor, or The Hungry Children. Diarmuid, named after an ancient Gaelic hero, was a tall, large man with a jolly disposition. Following his parents, he enlisted in the military and served as a physician for a few years before beginning his practice to tend to the other Dahl’kor. The turmoil had been growing over the years in the human world and although he believed he had done his part in following in the memories of his parents, there was a piece of himself that felt as though he had abandoned his people.

"I've been feeling something unusual lately," he said gravely. "I'm...having nightmares again." With that, the doctor looked at him skeptically. Closing his eyes, Doc breathed in deeply.

‘It’s been a long time, Nobia.” he replied. “You need to get comfortable, the gate isn’t going to open again. This is our people’s home, now." Nobia looked back at him angrily. Doc held up his hands with a light-hearted face. “I don’t mean anything by it; I just want you to know nothing’s going to change. We're safe here.”

“How can you be so carefree?” Nobia questioned. “Don’t you remember how we got here in the first place?”

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Doc looked down solemnly. After a short pause, he looked up to Nobia. “Nothing that happened was our fault and even if he was back, what could we do?” Doc said helplessly. 

Nobia sighed regaining control of his emotions. “I should’ve known not to come to you,” Nobia growled. Walking out the door, he turned to look at Doc. “If you don’t believe me look at this.” he said pulling out a crumpled section of a newspaper from his pocket dropping it on the cushioned table and walking out.

Doc walked over, picking up the paper he paused stone-faced. “…Belaska”

Gorum opened the door for Nobia waving cheerfully saying, “Come back soon!”

Nobia chuckled stuffing his hands into his pockets, “Yeah, doubt that’ll happen.” 

As he began walking down the street, Doc burst from the door behind him. Grabbing Nobia’s shoulder and pulling him around, he said with a sharp tone, “Is this real?” holding up the newspaper in a white-knuckled fist.

Nobia glared into his breathless face. “Of course, it’s real, do you think I’d waste my time if it wasn’t?” he replied. There was a brief pause, as they sat looking at each other as Doc’s mind raced to catch up. Nobia looked down lighting a cigarette, blowing the haze into the morning air. “I’m going to find the others,” he said taking another drag. Doc stood speechless as Nobia turned and walked away.

In the eight hundred and fifth year of the thirty-seventh revolution of Kaiagoth, a creature known by the Dahl’kor as Warwick Belaska, escaped from prison and sought refuge by passing into the human world. Known for the murder and torture of numerous creatures over hundreds of years, his capture and imprisonment was a celebrated time and upon his escape, a great unrest began. In his time in the human world, he began a crusade to rid the worlds of their tyrannical rulers through the torment of the citizenry who opposed him. Warwick rallied thousands of beings against the forces of Kaiagoth while he bided his time against the beings who stood to put him away. War erupted on both sides of the gate between worlds, creating chaos and confusion wherever Belaska’s forces spread.

Believed to be dead, the denizens of Kaiagoth closed the gate of their world to any left on the other side as they had been “tainted” by the stench of humanity. They believed that this was the key to what created Belaska and banished all creatures who fought for their world to stay back from their just rewards in their homeland.

Doc’s heart sank as his memories came rushing back. There on the paper, a headline read, SMITH AND ROBERTS ELECTED! with the smiling face of Belaska’s human form raising his vice president’s hand in celebration. “It continues,” he said. “And this time, we are alone.”

Nobia unlocked the old door to his apartment and shut it slowly behind him sniffing at the air. “Have you ever heard of privacy?” he chuckled walking in and removing his worn leather jacket. Instantly a small slender teenager appeared leaning against the wall. 

“Of course, I do, but what’s privacy when you’re family, right?” the scaly man said smiling, slinking after Nobia. Removing the hood from his head, the scaly tendrils of what looked like hair poking from above his head in spikes could be seen. His reptilian eyes quickly blinked sideways with a clear lid. “So, what did you need?” he said foraging through his bag, removing his laptop.

”It’s serious, Darwin,” Nobia said in a stern voice. “It’s-” 

”Okay, look, I can’t come over every weekend to fix your computer because you were looking at-” 

”Belaska.” Nobia interrupted in a low voice, handing a paper similar to the one he had shown Doc earlier over to Darwin. 

There was a short pause and Darwin looked at the headline of the newspaper. 

“Oh…” he said wide-eyed as he began reading the article. Darwin smirked and looked up at Nobia who was looking at the article from over his shoulder. “At least it’ll be easier to find him this time.”

“Leave it up to you to make this into a joke,” he said snatching the paper from Darwin and walking to the fridge, retrieving a beer. Opening the door to the balcony walking straight out to lean on the iron guard, looking forward, Nobia twisted the top off saying, “You know you can go inside.”

“I didn’t want to ruin Darwin’s surprise.” A voice said in a quiet tone from a tall man, covered in a cloak leaning against the wall behind Nobia.

“You know, you don’t have to wear that either, not here at least,” Nobia said turning around. The man withdrew the hood to reveal a slender face, on his head feathers replaced hair. Nobia fumbled in his pockets, finally finding his misshapen pack of cigarettes. Nobia carefully placed one in his mouth and began searching for his lighter. 

“When do we leave?” the feathered man questioned with his arms folded. Nobia looked up to him smugly. 

Lighting his cigarette and taking a drag, Nobia glanced at his watch. “Well, I’ll bet Doc will be here in about two hours with his things,” he said in smoky words. “We can decide what we do when he gets here.”

“Arrol!” came a young girl’s voice from behind them, as Brielle ran and hugged him tightly. 

Arrol grinned hugging her, “Hello. It has been quite a while.” He replied softly as she buried her face into his chest. Nobia raised an eyebrow and walked off rolling his eyes to sit down next to Darwin on the couch.

Nobia had saved Brielle from her home during the commotion of the war with the help of Arrol. She was one of the hybrids left after the gate closed. Hungry and alone, her parents had found a way to cross back into Kaiagoth, promising to retrieve her once they had successfully gained passage only to never return and leave her stranded in a strange place.

Nobia plopped down onto the couch next to Darwin who was entranced by the video game he was playing. Sighing deeply, Nobia leaned back with a long stretch. His body seemed to ache all over from his sore neck to his gurgling stomach. No sleep in weeks had left his body and mind in disarray, on top of the obvious concerns. Staring at the ceiling, he could feel the bags under his eyes pulling down on him. He leaned up and burped loudly. “I’m going to get some food, you coming?” Nobia said grabbing his jacket and looking at Darwin. 

Darwin never looking away from the screen whined, “Well, I just started this game and-” Nobia cut him off clearing his throat, nodding toward Arrol and Brielle who were talking with smiles on their faces still on the balcony. “Yeah, yeah, I’m coming.” he said pulling his jacket on following Nobia out the door.

Nobia’s breath came out in a haze as he walked into the cool air. Darwin immediately opened his bag pulling out a sweatshirt, pulling it on quickly. He shook his head looking up at Nobia, who had begun staring at him. Nobia smiled and grabbed Darwin under his arms chuckling, "Where do you want to eat?"

“This place looks good to me.” Darwin said as they passed a nearby pet store.

“Not quite.” Nobia smirked. They continued to walk in silence on the damp sidewalk lining the street through the steam billowing out of the sewer drains. Pointing to a nearby street vendor, he continued, “Let’s try this place.”

Several minutes passed with Nobia and Darwin staring at the menu overhead when Darwin leaned over to Nobia standing next to him. “Why are we waiting on Doc?” Darwin said, his eyes never leaving the list of overly fattening foods. “It’s not like he-”

He was cut off by the rude, pimple-faced clerk, eyes half-open, saying, “What’s your order?” Nobia ignored him and kept staring at the menu. After a minute or so the teenage clerk huffed and began tapping his foot. Nobia gave his order and Darwin’s followed. They took their food and sat on a nearby bench nestled under a large oak tree, away from the rain-soaked concrete and prying eyes.

Nobia unwrapped the wax paper covering his bacon triple-hamburger and began eating. Darwin looked at Nobia who was now staring at a whirlwind of leaves that had materialized in the street. “So?” Darwin said, dragging out his word.

“Let's just say he is a vital part of the operation.” Nobia said hungrily finishing off his burger. “Eat up.”

“Glad to know there's an operation.” Darwin smiled.

The two finished their food and began walking toward his apartment. Looking down at his watch, he said “Twenty minutes ‘til Doc gets there. Make sure you have anything you want before we leave. We won't be coming back to the apartment.”

"Nothing cryptic about that at all." Darwin said. "Are we going to roleplay detectives next?" Nobia playfully punched him in the shoulder. Darwin returned with an elbow to the ribs as Nobia grabbed him by the head and wrapped his arm around Darwin's shoulder as they walked together trudging over the vibrant tapestry of leaves that masked the concrete below.

“Seems like you’ve got a fan club.” Darwin snickered after turning around to see a pack of stray dogs following them.

“As if this never happens to you?” Nobia said walking over to pet his malnourished friends.

“Of course, it does,” Darwin said smiling. "It's definitely one of the benefits of living on this side of the gate."

Nobia sighed. “Yeah. Always glad to have a little love from something.” Nobia said giving the dogs each one last pat before sending them off. "Won't be seeing much of it where we're going.”

Nobia and Darwin arrived at the apartment minutes before Doc was expected. Taking off his coat and sitting down, Darwin looked at Nobia puzzled. “Where are they?” he said looking around.

Nobia sniffed at the air and stood silently, ears twitching. Pulling out a cigarette, he said, "They're coming down from the roof." Arrol and Brielle appeared on the balcony with one flap of his enormous black wings. They both wore solemn faces that could be seen even in the shadows of the waning sunlight. Brielle walked into her room and shut the door without saying a word to anyone. Arrol walked over to Nobia who was leaning forward on a stool by the island of the kitchen. Sighing, he stared at her door.

“What did you tell her?” Nobia said leaning back propping his arms behind him.

“The truth,” Arrol responded quietly, turning to face Nobia.

“Ooh. Bad move.” he said surprised.

“Not all of it. Where I have been, what I have done. Not why. That’s your job to tell her that.” Arrol said calmly turning to Nobia. They stared at each other for a moment, their gaze telling the other more than their mouths could convey.

Darwin, determined to break the silence, looked at the clock. It was exactly two hours from when Nobia had said Doc would arrive. “Two hours, right?” Darwin said drawing their eyes away from each other. “I guess you were wrong about Doc getting here in two hours. It’s been two and he’s still no-“ Darwin’s voice was interrupted by a knocking at the door. He paused and turned to look at the door. “That’s just ridiculous,” Darwin whispered to himself.

Nobia glanced over to Darwin. “Open the door, would you?” He said reaching for his lighter. Darwin nodded at Nobia and walked quietly to the door. The door handle clicked and squeaked open to reveal Doc, staring into the room holding several bags. His towering height, which normally carried with it a sense of strength, was diminished by the pink and green plaid of the handfuls of luggage that filled his arms. His mouth fell agape surprised at the sight of the others.

“I know he’s ugly but I’m sure he doesn’t appreciate the staring.” Nobia said with sarcastic concern, hoping to regain the attention in the room. “Took you long enough,” Nobia said lighting his cigarette. “I hope you packed enough clothes, it’s going to be a long trip.”

Fumbling with his oversized suitcases, Doc stuttered, “I-I-I don’t know about you but I am going to the capital to see if all this is true. Where are you going?”

Taking a long drag from his cigarette, the cherry burning in the dim light, he said, “We…are going to open the gate.”